Warehouse boom in York County?

One planned, one under construction; warehouses plan to find tenants

Crrews work on the roof of a large warehouse being built in Manchester Township. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - KATE PENN)

York, PA -

A company may invest roughly $60 million to build a large distribution center in Fairview Township.

What's needed is approval from the township's board of supervisors.

In Manchester Township, another group of investors are deep into the construction of a $34 million warehouse near the interstate's Emigsville exit.

The future occupants of both colossal facilities are still up in the air.

But developers say the search for tenants won't be a problem given the amenities afforded by York County for companies looking to move goods throughout the northeast.

Fairview Township center proposed

The First Logistics Center in Manchester Township is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. Construction began on the project last August. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - KATE PENN)

This month, the Fairview Township Board of Supervisors will review a conditional use application for a proposed more-than-1-million-square-foot warehouse/distribution center at I-83 and Lewisberry Road.

Brandon Birtcher, chief executive officer of Goodman Birtcher North America, said his company chose the site based on easy access to I-83 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike - an asset that keeps truck and employee traffic off local streets. The roughly $60 million project could employ between 500 and 2,500 employees, depending on the tenant - which has yet to be selected, he said.

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"There's a high probability that the name of the customer in this building will be a household name," Birtcher said. "The most active sectors in the American logistics community are e-commerce and consumer products. Those two categories bring forward names that would be very recognizable to most American consumers."

Goodman Birtcher North America was formed in June 2012, he said. The firm is part of Goodman Birtcher, a wholly owned subsidiary of Goodman Group, an organization that owns and develops warehouse, distribution and business space in 18 countries.

Customers of the organization include Amazon.com, Kimberly-Clark, Coca-Cola, and UPS.

"There's some very exciting things happening in the distribution and logistics sector in America," Birtcher said. "That is the rapid growth of e-commerce and the expectation of consumers to have same-day delivery. Those sorts of employers have high employee count."

The building will be LEED certified and built using Goodman Birtcher's proprietary software, maximizing the purchasing of local components, he said.

Pending the project's approval, the company plans to break ground on the Goodman Logistics Center Fairview in the third quarter of next year. The anticipated completion date is the first or second quarter of 2015.

Center being built in Manchester Township

Commuters have likely found it difficult to miss the construction that has been underway for months near the Emigsville Exit of I-83.

"You've seen some drastic changes over the last 30 days," said Jeff Thomas, senior regional director for First Industrial Realty Trust.

The organization is building a 708,000-square-foot distribution center in Manchester Township.

The $34 million project is called the "First Logistics Center."

The building will sit on a 55.5-acre site and employ 200 to 400 people once tenants move in.

Perimeter walls are going up. The project's roof is being installed. Site paving is underway.

What started as a leveled-off dirt plot that piqued interest from passing motorists is making serious progress.

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of the year. The end tenant, however, is still in the works.

"We're tracking a handful of possible prospects and making sure they're aware of the status of the project," Thomas said.

When First Industrial bought the site in summer 2012, the property came with a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program already in place.

The program allows property owners to pay a percentage of their property taxes over a period of several years.

In addition to the Manchester Township site, First Industrial owns other buildings in York County, including ones occupied by United Natural Foods in Conewago Township and Navistar in East Manchester Township.

While most associate the Carlisle-area and I-81 as a distribution hub, York County is becoming a high interest area for the logistics community, Thomas said.

"There's access to a deeper pool of labor in York County. The county has seen some growth over the last decade. The access to the population base within a 40-minute travel time, we've determined, is much better than in the Carlisle area."